Head of Partnerships - Hotels

Are you an ambitious senior partnerships salesperson, keen to progress in the field of international, high-profile food, travel & beverage events? Are you looking to elevate your career by spearheading the expansion and retention of a global brand portfolio?

Due to the continued success and expansion of 50 Best, we have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Partnerships to join our team and contribute to the ongoing success of the 50 Best family of brands. Reporting to the Director of Partnerships, you will ensure targets, objectives, and expectations of the group are met. Bringing your experience of commercial contracts, you will work closely with clients to problem-solve and help to plan their events activations and digital campaigns.

50 Best is the global leader in premium gastronomic awards events, widely recognized as the leading innovator within our field. Our brand portfolio now includes The World’s 50 Best Hotels, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, 50 Best Discovery, as well as The World’s 50 Best Bars, North America’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

50 Best Hotels was launched last year as a brand new venture within the 50 Best portfolio. It has, within just one year, become not only the most coveted recognition in the global Hotel market but also the global reference point for the most incredible and luxurious hotels across the globe.

We have offices in Gatwick and London, UK; Montpellier, France; Singapore and Chicago, US. In line with the Company’s current Agile Working Policy, the successful candidate would be eligible to work two days per week from our Crawley office, one day per week from our London office and to work remotely for the rest of the week.

What you’ll be doing:

• Proactively engaging with global brands with a view to selling luxury partnerships and branded content propositions for the 50 Best Hotels events and the 50 Best content platforms.
• Working to deliver 50 Best global sales, achieving both individual and team targets.
• Developing an ongoing pipeline of new partners for the events.
• Building relationships with senior exec and VP level marketers, globally, to fully understand the brand’s decision making.
• Showcasing the 50 Best events and brand position within the hospitality market, as well as working with potential and current luxury partners.
• Working with the relevant internal teams, including marketing, operations, and creative editorial to achieve optimal solutions for partners and 50 Best.
• Negotiating and finalising annual and multi-year deals
• Developing metrics to measure ROI, KPIs and AVEs from partnerships.
• Forecasting, measuring, and reporting the results to the Director of Partnerships on a regular basis.
• Collaborating with senior management and other teammates to align our internal goals with new and existing partnerships.

• A consultative sales approach to understand how 50 Best can help achieve and solve clients’ business challenges and objectives.
• Extensive experience in commercial sponsorship roles.
• Experience of sourcing and delivering, at pace, multiple deals of meaningful scale.
• Ability to find & convert deals with tenacity and dedication focusing on delivering results.
• Experience in working with senior stakeholders to find win-win solutions.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as well as being goal orientated, assertive and a problem solver.
• Excellent organisation, attention to detail, and time management skills.
• A strategic thinker with a passion for luxury, hospitality and premium food and beverage brands.
• Confident communication and networking in a global environment.
• Familiarity with legal contracts, and CRM tools (e.g. Salesforce) would be beneficial.
• Language skills (particularly verbal & written Spanish, French and/or Italian) is not essential but highly beneficial.

• 25 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays- increasing by one additional day after 6 years, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An additional day of leave for you to take on a cultural celebration day or on your birthday if you like. A day for you! At William Reed, we call this our "MeDay".
• A volunteer day to take for supporting a chosen charity and giving back to the community.
• Opportunity for hybrid working
• Contributory Pension
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Group Income Protection
• Enhanced family-friendly leave pay entitlements
• Wellbeing benefits, including: A health care cash plan, Employee assistance programme and a 12-month wellness calendar for company-wide health, wellbeing, diversity & inclusion awareness dates.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for us:

We provide a supportive work environment and are committed to maintaining a healthy work/life balance for all of our employees. Working for William Reed means that you will be joining a stable organisation that is committed to developing its employees and brands.

We warmly welcome and encourage applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds and characteristics.

If you need any support in accessing this opportunity, please do not hesitate to discuss this with us.